Over 1,700 new COVID-19 infections in 72 hours but total recoveries exceed 7,000

In three days, more than 1,700 new samples tested positive for COVID-19 in Nigeria with 675 new cases confirmed on Monday.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) announced the new cases on Monday night.

Monday’s figure is a sharp increase from the previous 24 hours when the country recorded less than 500 new cases.

With the latest development, a total of 1,772 persons have been confirmed positive for COVID-19 in the past 72 hours.

In spite of the number of new infections, there is some positive development.

Although the daily recovery toll is not as high as that of new cases confirmed, at least 100 people have been discharged on a daily basis for weeks, with more than 7,000 people now discharged across the country.

In the past seven days, a total of 1,889 people have been discharged.

However, within the same week, 105 people have died of COVID-19 complications.

675 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria;

Lagos-288
Oyo-76
Rivers-56
Delta-31
Ebonyi-30
Gombe-28
Ondo-20
Kaduna-20
Kwara-20
Ogun-17
FCT-16
Edo-13
Abia-10
Nasarawa-9
Imo-9
Bayelsa-8
Borno-8
Katsina-8
Sokoto-3
Bauchi-3
Plateau-2

20,919 confirmed
7,109 discharged
525 deaths pic.twitter.com/7nAWZGBiYY

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— NCDC (@NCDCgov) June 22, 2020

As part of measures to ensure that the fatality rate is reduced to the barest minimum, the presidential task force (PTF) on COVID-19 has warned against managing patients exhibiting symptoms outside approved health facilities.

Speaking at the PTF briefing on Monday, Osagie Ehanire, minister of health, said there was a need to strategise in order to control the situation considering the rise in the number of cases.

“The experience we are getting suggests that some of the fatalities recorded in our country may possibly have been saved if they had arrived designated treatment centres early enough,” he said.

“It is also emerging that the clinical condition of COVID-19 patients, especially the elderly and those with underlying illnesses, can change from mild to critical within such a short time that patients hardly have time to seek hospital care.

“I again advise all hospitals to have the right index of suspicion and recognise and promptly refer suspected cases to designated hospitals.

“Attempting to treat COVID-19 positive patients, when not so accredited, puts all involved at risk, including the innocent.

“I also advise persons with symptoms and those with underlying diseases or over 60 years of age, to check into an isolation or treatment centre for observation. This could save your life.”